Damsel in Distress
by Norah Rose
Summary: Kate helps Rick test out a potential scene for one of his stories. Fluff ensues.


**Author's Note: **This is drastically different from anything I've written before. It's fluffy. I mean, ridiculously fluffy. Like, scary fluffy. You have been warned. Enjoy!

* * *

><p>"Castle, there is NO way I am putting that on." Beckett groaned as Castle held up a bright yellow dress. The dress looked oddly reminiscent of Belle's from Beauty and the Beast. Ruffles cascaded down it and the fabric appeared to be very heavy.<p>

The grin on Castle's face dulled only slightly at her words. "It's for research." He said, as if that could justify everything.

"Research?" Beckett cried in disbelief. "How is me wearing a princess dress going to help you research anything?"

"You're a damsel in distress." He was unable to hide the hurt in his voice from her harsh tone.

Kate actually laughed out loud. "A damsel in distress? No… No way! I'm not putting that on."

"But I'll be wearing this…" He reached into the box he had retrieved the dress from and pulled out a large, black pair of rubber gloves and a shirt that appeared to have a small hammer on it.

"What is that supposed to be?" Kate asked sharply, eying the items in his hand.

"It's some hero costume or something… I don't know. I got it on eBay. It's not important. What _is _important is that I'm going to wear this," He held up the gloves and shirt. "And you're going to wear this," He waved the dress now. "And we're going to act out a scene for my next short story!"

"Short story?" She asked.

"I write all kinds of things." He said with a wink that caused Beckett to try and hide the blush that was spreading across her cheeks.

"I still don't see why _that _is necessary." She gestured towards the dress as if it were some hideous monster.

"We have to be in character to see if it works for the story!" He whined.

"You can't ask Alexis to help you with this?" Beckett said, trying desperately not to soften.

"That would be creepy…" He said, still flashing the biggest pair of puppy dog eyes she had ever seen.

"Kate," Castle spoke her name softly, catching direct eye contact. "I already have the scene written; I just need to know if it's believable. This is the only way."

Beckett wasn't fooled by his quiet words and use of her first name. She quickly saw through his charade.

"Richard Castle, if I didn't know better, I'd say you were just trying to see me in a billowy princess dress."

"Ah, but my dear detective, you do know better, don't you?" He raised his eyebrow playfully.

"Just give me the dress before I change my mind." Beckett rolled her eyes dramatically as she headed to the bathroom to change into the dress.

Moments later a yell from the bathroom met the writer's ears. "Castle, this looks completely ridiculous!" She called, audibly knocking something over with the huge dress.

"Come out of there before you get it dirty!" He called, excited just to see her.

The door opened and slowly, reluctantly Kate emerged. The dress, as Castle always seemed to manage, fit her body flawlessly. It hugged every curve in the most attractive and feminine way Castle had ever seen her.

"You look…" He drew a breath, taking her entire appearance in.

Beckett looked down at herself, doubt clear in her eyes as she waited for Rick to finish his sentence.

"Absolutely flawless," he muttered, shock still apparent in his eyes. "Exquisite," he continued. "Stunning… Indescribably beautiful…"

"Castle," Kate mumbled, blushing furiously. "I look insane; like a grown woman playing dress up.

"No… No. You look perfect. I…" The man suddenly realized all the things he'd said, all the compliments. He worked quickly to backtrack, fearing that Beckett would be angry. "You look perfect, I mean, for the role. Yeah. Just like an, uh, exquisite damsel in distress. I'll just go get changed then." He grabbed his clothes and hurried to the bathroom, eager to leave the awkward situation he'd created for himself.

While he changed Beckett fiddled with the ruffles cascading down the dress. Despite how silly she knew she must have looked, she felt beautiful. Castle's endless complimenting might have played a part.

When he emerged from the bathroom clad in his "hero" costume, Beckett had her own turn to be impressed. The brown shirt hugged his chest tightly, strongly accentuating every muscle he possessed.

And there were a lot of them.

The gloves did look rather ridiculous, but Kate definitely wasn't looking at the gloves. Her eyes were fixed on his strong midsection for a moment before she was interrupted by Castle raising a questioning eyebrow.

"How do I look?" He asked, holding his gloved hands up in question.

Beckett was torn between admitting that he looked completely and totally sexy, or finding a weak excuse. As usual, she settled on weak excuse.

"Very heroic," she said, smiling slightly.

"Why thank you." He said brightly. Then unexpectedly, he was holding out his hand for her. "Shall we go on with the scene?"

"No script?" Kate asked, grabbing his hand in confusion.

Castle eyed her wickedly. "I'll do the talking. You… do what feels right?" He suggested.

"Do what feels right? Castle, how is this going to accomplish anything?" She released his hand and took a step away, becoming unsure of her decision to help with this "scene".

"This is how I find out what's believable!" He said, again beginning to pout.

His sad eyes were becoming all too hard to resist and again Beckett found herself sighing and agreeing to his terms. "Okay. Do your… whatever it is that you're doing."

"I owe you forever. Also, I'm using your name for the believable factor, of course. We need to be in character. It's a different name in the story." he said quickly, covering all of his bases before continuing on with his scene.

He reached his hands out for hers and she eyed him warily for only one moment before taking them. Suddenly he had taken two unprovoked steps closer. He leaned down to meet her eyes.

"Katherine Beckett, don't you ever, ever do that to me again." He said, his voice more sincere than the detective could believe.

"Uh… do what?" She asked, doing as he'd advised and saying what felt right.

"Scare me like that!" He said, as if the answer was obvious. "I'm here to save the city, not you. You need to leave. I can't…" He paused and for a moment, Kate could swear his eyes shined with tears that hadn't yet fallen. Perhaps there was more of his mother in him than she'd thought.

"I don't know what I would do if something happened to you, Kate. Please… just go."

The honesty and genuine tone of his voice struck Beckett and suddenly, she found herself jumping into character; saying what felt right. "Castle…" She took a breath. "Rick, nothing's going to happen to me, okay?"

"I can't risk that." He said with a shake of his head.

In the moment Kate forgot how silly and childish she had felt moments ago. She forgot that she was wearing a princess dress and Castle a strange hero's outfit. Maybe she was also more of an actress than she'd ever known.

"I won't leave you," she said, reaching up her hand to brush his cheek softly.

His eyes flickered with surprise at the contact for only a moment. Apparently she'd sold him with her acting skills too because immediately he jumped back into the role.

"If they can find you once, they can find you again." He said softly, pulling her free hand back to his.

"Then I'll just have to stay where you can protect me." She replied, without even considering what she was saying. If Castle wanted natural, that's what he was getting.

He sighed deeply. "You're not going to give in, are you?"

"Never," she said in an instant.

And then, with no warning, Castle's lips were on hers. He kissed her softly, taking his time with every move and she answered with silent approval, bringing their clasped hands to her chest as she leaned further into their kiss. It was sweet and careful, tentative even, as if Castle felt she could break. It was a princess' first kiss with her prince.

Finally, after relishing every moment of a kiss that was both delicate and tender, yet still deeply sensual, Castle pulled away.

Beckett was breathless, in every sense of the word. She had been caught completely off guard, and she had no idea what to say. Fortunately, Rick broke the silence for her.

"Perfect! That was a perfect scene!" He said, buzzing with excitement.

Kate stepped away from Castle, averted her eyes in embarrassment, and fiddled with her hair to give her nervous hands something to do.

He noticed her fumbling and spoke up to try to release the tension in the room. "I think we played that out really well, don't you? Very believable," His tone was light but his stare wasn't. He gazed straight into Beckett's eyes, never wavering.

"Very believable… yeah." She replied in a low voice, looking back up into his eyes.

His eyes glinted in a way that made Beckett forget everything, once again. She felt herself melting in front of him when he smiled that immature smile and spoke again.

"So… on to the sex scene now?" He said, as he raised his eyebrow and grinned widely.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>So there we go! I don't have any idea where this came from. I honestly just wanted the idea of Kate wearing a princess dress. Come on, she'd look beautiful! Please let me know what you thought. I'd love to know!

Also, come follow me on Twitter at SkyyTweet. I'd love to find as many Castle fans there as I can! I always love talking about the show. (and tons and tons of other fun things!)

Thanks, always.


End file.
